Smart Growth Summit

June 18, 2018 | 2PM

Education Update:

Johnston County Public Schools
Suzanne Lujan, Career & Technical Education Director
"Building a Successful Workforce"

The Main Event: Capitalizing on Industry Expansions

Approximately three years ago, Johnston County Economic Development Office sponsored a trip to Covington, Georgia to see how this community took advantage of the biopharmaceutical growth from the new Shire plant that was under construction. This new plant would create over 1,000 direct permanent jobs. The similarities to the Covington area and Johnston County were striking as we were about to begin major expansions with Novo Nordisk and Grifols.

David Bernd, Vice President of Economic Development for Newton County, Georgia, played a pivotal role in preparing Covington and the surrounding communities to prepare for and maximize the growth opportunities offered by the new Shire plant. A key theme was that if one community wins all the communities would win. Therefore it was critical that all political and business leaders work together for the benefit of the entire region.
 
As a result of David’s leadership , the Covington area is thriving with many diverse business entities. The quaint downtown, that not long ago was struggling, is now filled with restaurants and shops. As leaders in Economic Development for Johnston County we can all benefit from David’s experience.
 

---

About our Speaker

David Bernd retired to Covington, GA in 2013 after 33 years with Kimberly-Clark. After relocating to Covington, Dave quickly determined he was not going to go into retirement very well. He had several interviews and offers in Canada, the Mid Atlantic and Northeast to run businesses connected to the Paper Industry, which meant he was going to spend long periods of time away from Covington. One day in early November he stopped in the Chamber, just to find out what was going on and if he could help in anyway. Next thing he knows is he has an office and is currently serving as the Vice President of Economic Development.  Current projects include the Shires $2.1B Pharma Manufacturing Project, Facebook's $42B Data and Research Center, and development of the Covington Media Center which includes Three Ring Studios and Triple Horse Studios, two motion picture production companies.

Dave and his wife, Sue have been married for 40 years.  They have two daughters and love spoiling their grandchildren. Dave is a huge Green Bay Packers fan, an avid skier, and loves biking and walking.